Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Jensen Nursery and Garden Center - Who we really are.... Our First Blog from November 2010!

Hi my name is Tammy , and I am attempting to write our first blog ever! After my family and staff read this it may very well be my last blog!! Jensen Nursery and Garden Center is a family owned and operated business. My dad, Kurt Jensen started the business 44 years ago out of his River Heights home. There have been many changes throughout the years, but the one thing that has never changed is our family's commitment to the business. Our customers have always been a priority to our business. Over the years, as the garden centre has expanded so has our staff. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce some of our long time staff members!

Mr. Kurt Jensen – owner of Jensen’s since 1966
Mr Jensen can be seen out in his field digging up trees, giving advice to the staff, or walking through the garden center with an eagle eye spotting the one plant that is in desperate need of water! You always know he is around when the bright yellow hydro truck is in the parking lot. He has been an inspiration to me since I was a young child following him around while he sold trees and shrubs to customers at the old lot.

Mrs Elsie Jensen – owner of Jensen’s since 1966
Mrs Jensen has worked behind the scenes for many years. She may be showing up at your door dropping off a landscape estimate, in the greenhouse planting annuals, or running out to buy lunch for Tammy and Sue because they were busy and forgot to bring a lunch!

Tammy Jensen – daughter
I have been learning about the business since I was a child, but have been here fulltime for almost 16 years. My favourite part of the business is being out in the garden center helping customers design their yard! Having a customer leaving with a positive experience is my main goal. I truly believe that customers are what makes a business. And if the customers are happy a business will be successful!

Susan Jensen Stubbe – daughter
Susan can be seen running away from the garden center.....on her way to her next estimate or landcape design appointment. She also spends time out on job sites ensuring that our work is up to our high standards at all times! If you can find her at the garden center she will be happy to pass on her enthusiasm for plants and design.

Karl – garden center staff
Karl is quite often referred to as Mr Jensen! His Danish accent, his love for plants, and dedication to Jensen’s has customers convinced he has to be Mr Jensen! I really do not know where we would be without Karl’s vast knowledge and the dedication he puts into his job.

Jennifer – garden center and gift store staff
Jennifer has helped take our garden center to the next level. She has been an amazing source of ideas and support through all our endeavours of the last few years. She gives us sisters the push we sometimes need!

Laura – garden center and gift store staff
Laura has become our resident bug terminator! She has taken it upon herself to learn every pest that can infect a plant and just how to get rid of it. She also can be seen with her nose in a book looking up information for a customer. She will not rest till she has an answer to your question!

John – garden center staff
Mr fix-it as John has become known, can be heard saying, “I think there is a better way to do this”. John has been become a regular fixture at Jensen’s, upgrading, repairing, and simplifying more items than I could possible list!

Penny – garden center and gift store staff
Penny can be seen in the outdoor display area going through all the shrubs, perennials and trees and keeping them looking their best. Penny is very meticulous with the plants and has become very valuable in keeping our garden center looking its best!

Rennae – garden center and gift store staff
Rennae is always on the move! Whether it be redoing the showroom giftware displays, or running out to help a customer. She also recently has taken a pruning course and is a wealth of information!

Chelsea – deliveries and plantings
Chelsea can be seen loading trees, soil, and stakes into the delivery truck to plant trees in a customer’s yard. If she wasn’t so good at planting trees, we would have her at the garden center fulltime singing to the plants in her beautiful voice! We look forward to having her with us throughout her university years!

*a special thanks to Mark and Luc who have worked very hard in our landscape division making customers yard’s a place to enjoy!

All of these staff have been extremely valuable to our business, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without their help and dedication. I also have to mention the great group of new staff we had this year as well. I’m hoping they will be back next year, and that I will be given an opportunity to tell you all about them in the future! There is also someone who knows who she is that has been working behind the scenes for the last year to get our website up and running. And to her a special thank you!

Now that I have spent so much time raving about all our wonderful staff I have run out of time to talk about the business. So on that note, I invite you to come to our garden center and experience it for yourself! We are truly dedicated to help each and every customer to the best of our ability. If we do not know an answer, we will not give up till we find it. We are here to help you with all your gardening choices! That is my promise! Sincerely yours, Tammy Jensen

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Happy Winter to all the gardeners out there!

I'm not sure about everyone else, but after a return to typical winter weather I am ready for spring! I went into work Wednesday for the first time. After putting away Christmas we met with a lady from the Forks about flowers for next year. It really got my brain back into the swing of things again! I think I had forgotten what a Karl Forester grass was! Now I'm ready to start planning my yard for spring again! This is a great time of year to check out our plant search engine and start planning for spring. I have also received a email from Bill Dowie with some great ideas for spring seminars. I will keep everyone posted when we set a date. It should be sometime in early April. Anyway I'm off work till next wednesday so I must return to painting my house and babysitting Kato the pug and Ziegler the cat!